The Free Toaster

thefreetoaster
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Insights and interviews at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. Hosted by Carlos Caro, co-founder at The Free Toaster and Managing Partner at New Market Growth, a growth agency for consumer lenders.

  1. 1d ago

    News Pod #27 - Oportun & Column Announce New Lending Partnership (And What This Means For Oportun’s Growth)

    Carlos & Nick discuss this week’s story - “Oportun and Column Announce New Lending Partnership to Expand Access to Responsible Credit.” At first glance, not that exciting. Just a new partner bank. Then we dug into the filings and found something strange: for the past nine months, Oportun had a bank partner that wouldn’t hold a single one of its new loans. Pathward originated them, and Oportun bought back 100%. Meanwhile, a growing acquisition machine in consumer lending (referrals in Q1 2025 up 352% year over year) sat idling with nowhere to run. This is why the Column deal is more than a routine bank partner transaction. It might be the moment Oportun’s marketing team finally got the green light. Today’s Pod expands on coverage from this week’s Newsletter: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/oportuns-bank-partner-held-no-loans ******   Come meet Carlos & Nick in San Francisco! The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders & Publishers Sponsored by Experian, Engine by Gen, and Prism Data San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th The Exploratorium 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1, increasing to $1499 August 2nd Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   *****   Sign Up For Our Newsletter The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/     New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  2. 2d ago

    E054 - Paid Search 101 (For Lenders) - With Ross Cohen, Former COO (Field Productivity) at New York Life

    Search is often just 10% of a lender's marketing mix — but Ross Cohen makes the case that it's the most powerful channel for experimentation and the best "shock absorber" when direct mail or affiliates come up short.   Ross, an advisory partner at Arica Consulting with 20+ years running search across Capital One, New York Life, FrontPoint, and Greenlight, has evaluated search agencies from every angle — client, operator, founder, and agency owner. In this deep-dive with Carlos, he shares the exact questions a non-technical CMO can ask to separate the pros from the pretenders.   We cover: Why quality score and the keyword vs. search term gap drive everything The branded/unbranded commingling trap that hides massive unbranded overspend Why optimizing to CPL instead of CPA is the single most common mistakes agencies make Reading the change log, auditing Google's auto-recommendations, and the marginal vs. average CAC test How to start from scratch: build an MVP account, one landing page, a few keywords   This conversation is practical, in-the-weeds, and refreshingly honest.   Find Ross at recohen.com or on LinkedIn   ******   Come meet Carlos in San Francisco! The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders & Publishers Sponsored by Experian, Engine by Gen, and Prism Data San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th The Exploratorium 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   *****   Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july      New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  3. 4d ago

    E053 - The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking [Reposted from recent webinar hosted by Fintel Connect]

    On July 13th 2026, Carlos spoke on a panel moderated by Danielle Lauzon (Fintel Connect) with Amanda Share (Pagaya), and John Hanley (Idaho First Bank).  Big ideas Carlos discusses: 1. The dangers of blindly optimizing for CPA in affiliate channels based on executive mandate 2. Why marketing at a lending company is one of the hardest jobs out there 3. A time he saw a huge spike in lead volume that was toxic for the business 4. Why direct mail is systematically undervalued 5. The (brand marketing) lesson that took him over 2 decades to learn   ***** Fintel Connect's Danielle Lauzon hosts a panel unpacking findings from a Cornerstone Advisors survey of 126 senior bank and credit union marketing execs — most of whom struggle to connect marketing spend to measurable outcomes, yet keep funding the channels that merely look best in reporting.   Joining the conversation:   Danielle Lauzon (Fintel Connect) — moderator; works on growth and strategy for the affiliate marketing platform built for financial services. Amanda Share — VP of Affiliates at Pagaya, which expands access to credit by pairing AI underwriting with performance marketing. John Hanley — EVP & CMO of Idaho First Bank and its digital brand Peak Bank, with 20 years in financial services marketing. Carlos Caro — founder of New Market Growth and publisher of The Free Toaster Newsletter, former Credit Karma executive and Capital One analyst.   Topics covered: why CPA and cost-per-lead mislead budget decisions, the shared-leads horror story that turned a channel toxic, why lending dashboards need credit dimensions, direct mail's chronic undervaluation, and the case for fintechs investing in brand marketing.     ******   Come meet Carlos & Nick in San Francisco! The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders & Publishers Sponsored by Experian, Engine by Gen, and Prism Data San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th The Exploratorium 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   *****   Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/     New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  4. Jul 10

    News Pod #26 - The Fintech Bank Charter Gold Rush

    Klarna just filed to become a bank. They're the ninth major fintech since December, joining Affirm, PayPal, Upstart, Revolut, Bunq, Mission Lane, and OppFi. The OCC saw 18 de novo applications in 2025, nearly matching the previous four years combined. Carlos and Nick break down why everyone is running for the regulatory door: cheaper funding through insured deposits, control without a sponsor bank in the middle, and a political window that may not stay open. They dig into the Klarna paradox. The company tells investors it's a spend-centric business, yet Morgan Stanley notes nearly all incremental profit comes from lending. Which one is the charter for? Plus: what a deposit-funded fintech tier means for subprime cards, Mission Lane's filing, and who files next (Chime, anyone?).   Newsletter version of this story: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/klarna-just-filed-for-a-bank-charter ******   Come meet Carlos & Nick in San Francisco! The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders & Publishers Sponsored by Experian, Engine by Gen, and Prism Data San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th The Exploratorium 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   *****   Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july     New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  5. Jul 3

    News Pod #25 - Happen Bank Is Running Chime's Playbook In Reverse

    In this solo News Pod episode, Carlos unpacks the story underneath Lending Club’s recent rebrand to Happen Bank. The story was covered in this week’s Newsletter: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/happen-bank-is-running-chime-in-reverse ****** The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th The Exploratorium 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   ***** Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  6. Jun 30

    E052 - Affiliate Marketing, Poker [Reposted from the "What's Your Wheelhouse" Video Podcast]

    Carlos sits with Megan Bauer, Head Of Customer Success at Spinwheel, to discuss affiliate marketing & business lessons learned playing poker. ****** This episode is reposted from Spinwheel's Video Podcast - "What's Your Wheelhouse." Check out the video version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXcLSTMLAK4

  7. Jun 26

    News Pod #24 - How Lenders Win When AI Calls the Shots

    Nick and Carlos discuss an Editorial piece recently published in The Free Toaster Newsletter https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/how-lenders-win-when-ai-calls-the   The premise of the conversation -- an LLM-based personal finance tool is going to be the most effective/useful way for consumers to shop for cards and lending products. Given that future, how should CMOs at lending companies be thinking about their long-term strategy? ****** The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   ***** Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=june   Fintel Connect   Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

  8. Jun 24

    E051 - Real Talk On How Long It Takes To Get Into Big Affiliate Platforms

    Most lenders underestimate how long it takes to get onto a major affiliate platform. The honest answer is 6 to 12 months. Sometimes 18. If one of these channels is on your 2027 roadmap, you need to start now.   In this solo episode, Carlos breaks down the five phases that explain the timeline: Internal prep. Do you have a competitive product and funnel? Get your application rate above 40%. Card issuers need 70 to 80% approval rates, which implies serious work on model alignment. Personal loan lenders need a dialed-in funding rate, too. Getting the partner's attention. A single intro call can take a month or two. BD teams are busy and you are not their priority unless you are already on their short list. Getting them on board. Adding you usually redistributes revenue across their existing lenders rather than growing their top line. The business case looks very different for you than for them. The deal. NDAs, contracts, and cross-functional review. Most terms are standardized. Lenders new to the game often redline anyway and lose months for little gain. The partner does the work. Engineering and onboarding queues are out of your hands. Add it up and you're waiting 6 to 12 months for a single lead. Plan accordingly! ***** The Affiliate Marketing Summit For Lenders San Francisco - September 23rd & 24th 150-person, curated room Early bird tickets ($999) end August 1 Learn more: events.thefreetoaster.com   ***** Sign Up For Our Newsletter   The Free Toaster Newsletter ships every Wednesday at www.thefreetoaster.com, curating the biggest stories at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. ****** Please Support Our Sponsors   Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=june   New Market Growth (Carlos’ agency) NMG focuses on building affiliate marketing programs for consumer lenders. www.newmarketgrowth.com

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About

Insights and interviews at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. Hosted by Carlos Caro, co-founder at The Free Toaster and Managing Partner at New Market Growth, a growth agency for consumer lenders.

Information

  • Creator
    thefreetoaster
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Free Toaster

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